Eat the Rainbow
Eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables can provide many different health benefits. Choosing fresh, frozen, and canned produce can help you to meet your daily goals. See below for a list of benefits from each color that you eat.
Red
- Improved memory
- A healthy heart
- Lower risk for some cancers
Fruits – strawberries, cherries, apples, tomatoes, watermelon, pomegranate, raspberries, cranberries, red grapes, and plums.
Vegetables – red peppers, rhubarb, radishes, and beets.
White
- A healthy heart
Fruits – banana, white nectarines, and white peaches.
Vegetables – cauliflower, garlic, onions, parsnips, turnips, and jicama.
Blue & Purple
- Good memory
- Healthy aging
- Lower risk for some cancers
Fruits – blackberries, blueberries, purple grapes, and plums.
Vegetables – purple asparagus, purple cabbage, purple carrots, eggplant, and purple peppers.
Orange & Yellow
- Sharp vision
- A healthy hear
- Strength to fight off colds and illness
- Lower risk for some cancers
Fruits – oranges, grapefruit, lemon, apricots, pineapple, cantaloupe, peaches, and papaya.
Vegetables – carrots, corn, summer squash, sweet potato, orange and yellow bell peppers, butternut squash, and pumpkin.
Green
- Sharp vision
- Strong bones and teeth
- Lower risk for some cancers
Fruits – avocado, green apples, green grapes, honeydew, kiwifruit, and lime.
Vegetables – artichokes, arugula, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, green beans, celery, cucumbers, leafy greens, green bell peppers, kale, lettuce, green onions, okra, peas, spinach, and zucchini.